Who Knew She Had a Middle Name?

24 Haring, 9:40 Dragon

Alexius and Felix were sharing a cabin. Alexius was guarded by templars. I made sure that Alexius had all of the ingredients and equipment he needed to continue making the potion for Felix, but the boy's time was running out.

I talked to Ali and he told me that the joining required the blood of an Archdemon and a mage who knew how to mix the that blood with lyrium and freshly drawn darkspawn blood.

I thought perhaps that Blackwall and I could take him to Amaranthine and see if Nathaniel could help; with Edwyn gone, Nathaniel was Arl and Warden Commander. Ali and I went to Blackwall to ask. He was rather reticent about accompanying me to Amaranthine, so when Ali pressed a bit Blackwall admitted that he had never been to Amaranthine and didn't know the current group of Ferelden wardens. Ali thought that a bit strange, but having been away from the Wardens since the Blight he felt he wasn't in a place to judge.

I was desperate; then I remembered that Avernus had a version of the joining. I suggested to Ali that I take Felix to Avernus. He knows me and maybe he would be willing to help. Ali was uncomfortable with me going alone and suggested that I take Blackwall. I was reluctant, because I didn't quite trust Avernus not to try something on Blackwall. I actually thought the best group for dealing with Avernus would be me, Dorian, and Bull. I didn't want to expose Cullen to any lyrium, and I certainly wasn't going to bring along a templar I didn't know.

I brought this all to Alexius and Felix who were surprised at the plan. Felix didn't know if he wanted to be a warden because that meant leaving his father behind. Alexius, however, was in favor of the idea if it meant Felix might live. I left the father and son to talk about it, but the longer we waited the worse it would get.

I asked Ali to write to Arl-Commander Nathaniel and see if he would be willing to accept Felix into the Ferelden wardens. Ali and I both thought that Orlais would be the last place a Tevinter-born warden should go.

I hope we can save Felix.

28 Haring

9:40

Marnie, Felix, Dorian and Bull left yesterday for Soldier's Peak. Nathaniel will join them there and take Felix (if he survives) to Amaranthine. Marnie is going to be gone for two full weeks just traveling there and back; fortunately they don't have to go to Amaranthine as well. Dorian, who knows how to ride a horse (which is surprising), is sharing the saddle with Felix. Not only does Felix not know how to ride, it will also conserve his energy. Marnie has a supply of the potion Alexius has been giving Felix. But Felix needs to take a larger amount of it more often. Time is critical.

6 Wintermarch, 9:41 Dragon

We are heading back to Haven. Felix survived the Joining, but it was a close thing. He convulsed for a while then fell unconscious. Alive but unconscious. Avernus was positive he would be fine, but I wasn't going to leave without knowing for sure.

I was able to visit with Nathaniel, who told me they had not heard from Edwyn. Nathaniel was concerned with news coming out of Orlais; rumors were circulating that that many of the wardens were hearing their Calling. The Orlesian Warden Commander had sent him a letter recently commanding him to meet her in Montsimmard. I was taken aback at her commanding another Warden-Commander and asked Nathaniel what he was going to do. His answer: "Ignore her."

I thought that made sense. Under Edwyn's command, the Ferelden wardens had taken to becoming isolationist after the end of the Blight. Weisshaupt had sent that old biddy to Amaranthine to spy on the Ferelden Wardens under the guise being a sort of treasurer; Edwyn had sent her packing after they dealt with the Architect, and cut off communications with Weisshaupt and Orlais.

I said goodbye to Felix, who actually gave me a hug. I told him I would find a way for his father to get messages to Amaranthine so they could stay in contact. I had already mentioned this to Nathaniel, who was okay with it.

~oOOo~

"Are you okay with your Mother staying here?" Marnie asked she curled up next to Alistair on the sofa.

"I am. I understand why she wouldn't want to move to Redcliffe, and she can always come to visit and we can come back here."

"She is such a wonderful grandmother."

Alistair grinned. "I know. The kids love her to pieces. I have to admit, once she and I talked about my father, I stopped feeling quite so much like an abandoned bastard. Given my mother is an Orlesian, elven-mage, I understand why my father couldn't recognize me. Besides, neither of

them wanted me to carry the burden of the throne. They were protecting me."

"Your mother told me that if Eamon were still alive, allowing him to live would be a chore, at best. Regarding Isolde, she told me, 'It would have been impossible not to 'turn her into a toad."

Alistair laughed. "Isolde as a toad…can you imagine how shrill her croak would be?"

Marnie chuckled, but then her expression turned somber. "Fiona was a real help in Haven, especially when you all evacuated the chantry. I thought we were headed for another "Tevinter Argument."

"No." Alistair said, "I was just being a worried ass. I realized that there was no other option. Mother knew you'd be okay. She kept me sane as we saw the avalanche bury Haven."

"I never expected the Elder One to be Corypheus." Marnie shook her head as her thoughts went back to the night after they'd sealed the breach.

… …. … .. .. …. .. … … ..… …. … .. .. …. ..… …. … .. .. …. ..

Cullen pulled the massive chantry doors shut as soon as I was inside. "Herald, if we can aim the Trebuchet towards the Chantry we can bury the rest of the red templars in an avalanche," he suggested.

"Good plan, once you've evacuated everyone."

"We cannot escape without being overtaken."

"I will buy you the time you need."

"It's pointless, Herald." Cullen argued. "The best we can do is take down this Elder One with us."

I lowered my voice. "There must be a way, Cullen. I will be damned if you think I am sacrificing anyone here!"

A frail voice interrupted them, "Herald, there is a way."

I turned to see Dorian and Alistair ease the seriously injured Chancellor to the floor, and hurried over. I looked at Dorian, hoping he could save Roderick's life, but the mage's expression was clear. The chancellor was dying.

I knelt down. "My Lord Chancellor?"

"There is a pilgrim's path that leads from the Chantry into the mountains."

I looked up and said, "Cullen, Alistair you need to lead the evacuation. I will buy you the time you need. Have Dorian, Vivienne, or Solas, send up a signal when you're a safe distance from here and I will launch the trebuchet."

Alistair gently pulled me aside, his expression fearful. "What about you? You cannot sacrifice yourself!"

"It's me this Elder One wants. I am the only one who can keep him distracted long enough for you all to get to safety."

"We don't even know who or what this Elder One is. Let me go with you."

"No, Ali. You have to help lead the evacuation. You are the Prince of Ferelden. You need to lead the people to safety."

"I don't give a–"

I held up my hand. "Don't say it, Ali! You have a responsibility, as do I. I will take Bull and Varric with me. Your people need you. I need you safe, so I'm not distracted. I just need to buy you enough time to get away. Then I will follow you." I stroked Alistair's cheek. "I promise."

Alistair held my hand. "Please stay safe. I love you."

"And I you."

We went back to the group and I said, "Bull, Varric, you're with me. Alistair, Cullen, follow the Chancellor's directions and get everyone out of the chantry and up that path."

I knelt next to the Chancellor. "Roderick thank you for your council and friendship. It has meant the world to me."

"I am blessed to have known you, Herald of Andraste."

I gently kissed his forehead then stood up. Blinking the tears away from my eyes, I met Bull and Varric at the door. "Ready?"

"Ready, Hawke."

"Let do this, Boss."

… …. … .. .. …. .. … … ..… …. … .. .. …. ..… …. … .. .. …. ..

Coming out of her reverie she looked at Alistair. "I remember the collective howls when I took Chancellor Roderick to Redcliffe. Just me, him, and a templar of his choice.

Alistair shook his head, smiling. "Thankfully, Cullen, Varric, and I managed to convince everyone that you were not insane."

"In their defense, I did say to the Chancellor that if after the trip to Redcliffe he still thought I had killed the Divine I would subject myself to the Chantry's authority, in return for leaving the Inquisition alone."

"It was a risk. But Cullen, Varric, and I knew you'd win him over. It was no surprise to us that he began referring to you as the Herald and that he never said another word against the inquisition."

"He and Mother Celeste were my confidantes in a way no one else could be, save for you."

After a few moments, Alistair grinned. Pulling out a long piece of parchment. "Ah ha! Here is Varric's accounting of your rather dramatic retelling what happened when you met the Elder One."

Marnie groaned. "He wrote it down word for word…I sound like an idiot."

… …. … .. .. …. .. … … ..… …. … .. .. …. ..… …. … .. .. …. ..

Her Inquisitorialness was finally drunk enough for us to convince her to tell us the about what happened when she met the Elder One. This is a verbatim account, as you will read. There was nothing I could have possibly embellished.

Exalt the Herald

Something exploded and the next thing I know I'm lying on my back and staring at the sky. I couldn't quite move yet, and all I could think of was being a frozen dragon snack. Then I heard a voice yell, "Enough!"

The Dragon backed away, which was good. But my relief was brief as I recognized the voice. I knew that voice, I knew it from my nightmares, and when I turned towards him, I confirmed my fears–it was Corypheus, the First Darkspawn. I thought I had killed the bastard. However, not only was he alive, it was clear that he was the infamous Elder One. I began to regret not being eaten by the dragon.

He stood there looking at me as I fell trying to stand up. So much for my being a commanding presence!

"Pretender, you toy with forces beyond your kin, no more."

He was a lot taller than I remembered. His body was augmented with red lyrium. Given what it had done to Meredith, I couldn't begin to imagine what it had done to him. I mean, honestly how much more awful could he get? Not to mention the question of where in the void had he gotten a hold of that red crap.

As I looked at him, I asked what I thought was a logical question. "Why do this?"

"Mortals beg for truth they cannot have. It is beyond what they are. What I was. Know me, know what you have pretended to be. Exalt the Elder One. The will that is Corypheus. You will kneel."

Having just managed to stand up, I refused to kneel. So I tried to clarify my question: I held up my hand and pointed to it. "I don't understand. Why do this?"

"Your understanding is not required. If you gain it, consider yourself blessed. I am here for the anchor. The process of removing it begins now!"

The pain in my hand forced me to my knees. The Anchor, as he called it, stayed put. Corypheus wasn't very happy.

"It is your fault, Herald! You interrupted a ritual that was years in the planning. Instead of dying, you stole its purpose. I do not know how you survived but what marks you is touched. What you flail at rifts, I crafted to assault the very heaven and you use the anchor to undue my work. The gall!"

I then asked the next most logical question, "What does the Anchor do?"

It is meant to bring certainty where there is none, for you the certainty that I would always come for it.

That's when he grabbed me by the hand and dangled me in front of him. At that moment, all my mind could manage was Shite, when did he get so bloody tall?

The longer I dangled by one arm the more it hurt. So naturally he picks then to begin his long-winded explanation.

"I once breeched the Fade in the name of another to serve the Old Gods of the Empire, in person. I found only chaos and corruption. Dead whispers. For a thousand years, I was confused. No more. I have gathered the will to return under no name but my own. To champion withered Tevinter and correct this blighted world. Beg that I succeed, for I have seen the throne of the gods and it was empty."

As was typical with Corypheus, he used about 100 words to say what he could have said in about a dozen. "I want to be a god and make Tevinter great again."

It was then that he stopped his diatribe and looked at me, not at my hand but at my face, which was right in front of him.

"I know you!"

"Yes, you do! I am the one to whom you owe your freedom. I am the one who released you from your millennia of confusion!"

That's when the ungrateful wretch tossed me against the trebuchet.

The anchor is permanent, you have spoiled it with your stumbling. So be it. I will begin again. Find another way to give world the nation and god it requires. I will not suffer an even unknowing rival, but you, you must die!"

Fortunately, my sword was nearby and I grabbed it. It was then that I saw the signal. I smiled and said, "Your arrogance still blinds you. Good to know."

I kicked the lever, launching the trebuchet. Corypheus looked in shock as the stone struck its target and the resultant avalanche flowed straight towards us. He quickly looked at me and I couldn't resist:

"Know me, know what you cannot pretend to be. Exalt the Herald of Andraste and the will that is Marnie Elendra Theirin!"

I shit you not. Hawke actually said that, and who knew she had a middle name! - VT

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15 Wintermarch

9:41

Marnie sealed the Breach, of course; how else could I be alive to write in you?

Anyway.

She is sleeping next to me as I write this. She was half frozen when Cullen and I found her walking through the snow to find us.

She was also caught by the avalanche that destroyed the chantry and leveled Haven. I am beginning to wonder if there is something to her being Andraste's Herald. I mean, if Andraste's smart, Marnie would be the logical choice.

~oOOo~

"Please tell me that you never actually believed I was Andraste's Herald?"

Alistair just looked at her.

"Ali?"

"Well… your survival against so many odds…I mean you're tough, and smart, and wily, but…If I were Andraste and needed a Herald–"

"Alistair Theirin! I am not, nor have I ever been Andraste's Herald, and you know it. It was some spirit that helped out in the Fade, not Andraste–"

"Okay…okay. Then how about being the beautiful Goddess Elendra, whom I will worship all my days?"

"Hmm. I like it. Shall we retire so you can properly show your devotion?"